Look Ma, No Mercury in Fillings!

Kent Coulter and his colleagues at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio have developed a new proof-of-concept dental restorative material under a program funded by the National Institutes of Health that seeks to replace amalgam with other materials. The new fillings are made with a plastic-like material containing zirconia nanoplatelets.

Coulter and his colleagues designed a way to make a roll of this material under vacuum. They envision that this material would be lifted from the roll and packed in a dental cavity and then cured — using an ultraviolet lamp or some other means — so that it hardens in place without shrinking.

It seems like ziconia continues to be a very exciting, useful and beneficial material in dental practice. Comments?